WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director L. Francis Cissna stepped in to the White House press briefing on Tuesday to push for changes in family immigration and the visa lottery but he was repeatedly unable to cite any data supporting his proposals when pressed by reporters.

— On the eve of a special election for an open U.S. Senate seat, embattled Republican politician Roy Moore told voters in the state that they shouldn''t support him if they have doubts about his integrity. 'If you don''t believe in my character, don''t vote for me,' Moore said at a rally with a few hundred supporters Tuesday night. The race to between Moore and Democrat Doug Jones, which will decide who fills the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is too close to call.

A victory for Roy Moore means the Senate majority leader will be able to hold onto his slim two-vote majority, but the former judge brings to the Senate a toxic mix that few Senate Republicans are keen to accept.

In recognizing Jerusalem as Israel''s capital, Donald Trump excited evangelical Christians and many orthodox Jews, who see it as laying the groundwork to rebuild the Holy Temple and a precursor to the Second Coming of Christ.

Monday morning, shortly after CNN discussed a New York Times report describing Trump''s TV viewing habits, Trump took to Twitter to dismiss the article. Though he claimed he doesn''t watch much TV and seldom if ever watches CNN, many have seen signs that he does.

On Monday morning, Emerson released their latest poll in the Alabama Senate special election, showing Republican Roy Moore ahead by nine points. That''s disappointing news if you''re supporting Democrat Doug Jones, but you could take comfort in a Fox News poll also released Monday morning, this one projecting Jones to win by 10. Those polls are just the latest reason Tuesday''s special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions is as difficult a race to predict as you will ever see.

Jerusalem has a special status in Israeli life and politics, and with few exceptions, parties from across the political spectrum agreed that it was time for America to recognize their country''s capital. But President Trump''s decision highlighted differences with mainstream Jewish groups in America.

Many Democrats have given up on compromise and centrism, but Kyrsten Sinema — a three-term member of the House from Arizona, a bisexual, secular triathlete — believes it''s a viable strategy as she prepares to run for the Senate in her mostly red state.

The House and Senate must now form a committee to work out the differences between their tax bills. President Trump calls the committee a 'mixer' and says lawmakers will come out with something that''s 'perfecto.' But the process is likely to be messy.

WASHINGTON — Apart from the 1980 boycott, American participation in recent Olympic Games has never really been in doubt. But over the 24 hours, the Trump administration left it unclear whether the threat from North Korea might lead the U.S. to skip the upcoming competition in South Korea.

President Trump will undergo the traditional physical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in early 2018 and make public the results of that checkup, the White House promised on Thursday. Press secretary Sarah Sanders also dismissed what she called 'ridiculous questions' about Trump''s health after he seemed to slur some words in a speech a day earlier. 'There were a lot of questions on that — frankly, pretty ridiculous questions,' Sanders told reporters at her daily briefing.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders called questions about President Trump slurring his words in a speech Wednesday “ridiculous” and said he will have a checkup at Walter Reed early next year, with results to be shared with the public.

In this Sept. 20, 2017, file photo, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Franken, facing fresh allegations of sexual misconduct and vanishing support from fellow Democrats, appears on the brink of resigning from the Senate. Franken''s office said he will make an announcement Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in a speech on the Senate floor.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., foreground, arrives for a news conference on sexual harassment in the workplace. The growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling on Sen. Al Franken to step down Wednesday opened up a dramatic partisan divide in how the two major parties are responding to their members and candidates accused of sexual harassment or abuse. By the day''s end, 30 lawmakers — and well over half the Democratic Senate Caucus — had weighed in to say that Franken should resign.

On Monday, The Wrap reported that MSNBC had cut ties with Sam Seder, a left-wing podcast host who also served as a contributor to the network''s opinion programming. The decision appeared to be a response to a coordinated attack on Seder touched off by the internet provocateur Mike Cernovich, who had unearthed a 2009 tweet by Seder about film director Roman Polanski.

The decision by MSNBC this week to cut loose a contributor over a bad-faith misinterpretation of an eight-year-old tweet represents a new escalation of the culture wars, inspired by the same alt-right troll who advanced the conspiracy theory known “Pizzagate.”

A wave of Democratic senators called for their colleague Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign. Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California, Patty Murray of Washington and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin were the first to say Franken should step aside in what appeared to be a coordinated release late Wednesday morning.

US Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, speaks outside his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on November 27, 2017. Six female Democratic senators on Wednesday called for Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign. Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Kirsten Gillabrand of New York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California and Patty Murray of Washington all called on Franken to step down in what appeared to be a coordinated release.

A wave of Democratic senators called for their colleague Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign. Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California, Patty Murray of Washington and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin were the first to say Franken should step aside in what appeared to be a coordinated release late Wednesday morning.